Emily Jean Signor

Emily Jean Harris Signor, a lifelong resident of Conroe, died peacefully in her home on September 4, 2018. She had just recently celebrated her eighty-second birthday. She was born on August 7, 1936 in Houston, Texas, to Michael Conway and Anna Mae Harris. Emily’s father was employed by South Texas Development Co. and had worked in the oil fields near Conroe for the company prior to being transferred to Houston before Emily’s birth. They returned to Conroe in the early 1940s before Emily started school. Emily attended Sam Houston Elementary, Travis Junior High and Conroe High School. She was a Travis Cub Cheerleader while in Junior High and was also a Tiger Cheerleader all four years at Conroe High, serving as Head Cheerleader her senior year. Emily served on the Conroe High School Student Council all four years and was Vice President of her senior class and president of the FHA. She was named Coronation Princess her junior year and Homecoming Queen her senior year. Other honors included Best Groomed, Best All-Round and being named Daisy Mae for the school’s Sadie Hawkins dance. After graduation, she attended Texas Christian University in Fort Worth where she pledged Kappa Alpha Theta in 1956-57 and the University of Houston 1957-58. She also attended Gulf Park By-the-Sea in Gulf Port, Mississippi. Her freshman year in high school, she met and developed a crush on Jim L. Signor of Montgomery. They had their first date on December 24, 1957 and their second date on December 24, 1958. They were married on April 21, 1959. Shortly after their marriage, Emily and Jim moved to Austin, where Jim and his twin brother, Charles, operated a ranch on land that is now part of Lago Visa, on the shores of Lake Travis. Their first daughter, Ruth Celia, was born in March 1960. The young couple returned to Conroe, where Jim became one of the first people in Montgomery County to earn a real estate broker’s license. While Jim built his real estate business, he also operated Signor Nursery with his brother Charles. Emily tended their growing family, which welcomed son Jim Harris in March 1963 and second daughter, Sylvia Ann, in April 1967. She was a member of the Conroe Service League and was actively involved in her church. Around 1960, she was a co-founder of the Christian Science Society in Conroe, along with Katie Scott, her mother-in-law Ruth Signor, and Barbara Kinkaid. She also went into business for herself, operating Emily’s Jewelry from 1978 until this year. Jim and Emily acquired land throughout Montgomery County and around the state. They owned and operated two working cattle ranches, one at Rotan in West Texas and one near Hamilton in Central Texas. The ranches served as beacons for the Signor family, especially once the children left home and started families of their own. The Hamilton ranch in particular became a central part of life for the extended Signor Clan, which grew to include eight grandchildren. The weekend before her passing, Emily had enjoyed one last visit to Hamilton with her family. Emily was preceded in death by her husband, Jim, who passed away in 2014 after the couple had celebrated 55 years of marriage. She was also preceded in death by her father, in 1991, her mother, in 2004, and her sister Betty Ann Neves Daniel, who died in 2015. She is survived by her eldest daughter Celia Signor Wyatt and Celia’s husband Kevin Wyatt of Houston; son Jim Harris Signor of West Hollywood, California; and her youngest daughter Sylvia Signor Rodriguez and Sylvia’s husband Joey Rodriguez of Houston. Emily’s grandchildren are Brett Kevin-Michael Wyatt, Carson Lynn-Ann Wyatt, SuAnna Elizabeth Wyatt, Cole Joseph Rodriguez, Meredith Emily Rodriguez, Graceson Noelle Wyatt, Lee Hudson Rodriguez, and Allyson Hope “Allyrose” Rodriguez. Grandson Brett’s wife, Marie, is expecting their first child in February, and Emily had been excited to become a great grandma “Meme.” After the loss of her husband, Emily moved to Houston to be closer to her daughters and resided there for four years until her death. Emily’s passing was sudden and unexpected. While stunned by the devastating loss, her family and many loved ones can be comforted by the sure knowledge that their beloved mother, grandmother, aunt, and friend lived a special life filled with joy, surrounded by love, and guided by faith. Memorial services are scheduled for 12:30 p.m. Friday, September 7, 2018, in the chapel, at Cashner Funeral Home, 801 Teas Road, Conroe.